The Insane vs The Merciless
by Nagaku Tsuzuku Yami
Summary: A year passed since Joker was arrested and Harvey Dent was killed, the mob is growing in power yet again and now brave enough to decide on one thing. The Joker has to die. So they enlist outside help. But, will hiring this animal be worth it?
1. Introduction

**Introduction**

Nighttime in Gotham City, everything was busy now that the cities Dark Knight was now more in the shadows thanks to the police hunting him as much as they would criminals. The mob was fighting back, against everyone. Including Gotham's very own Clown Prince who now sat usually restrained in a padded cell within Arkham Asylum. Twitchy though he were crazed and foaming at the mouth that's all he seemed to do a majority of the day.

Gordon attempted to question the Joker more then once, in the start he co-operated mainly for entertainment until he learnt about the charges that were placed against none other then the Batman. After that he grew quiet, spoke normally and worried everyone.

The news didn't go over with the Clown Prince very well. Not well indeed.

It was now apparent, that his personal touch was required once more in Gotham to flush out the Bat and drag the truth kicking and screaming into the light. The truth that Gotham's beloved White Knight wasn't so pure. That he was far from it, just like everyone else.

* * *

Around a rectangle table within an upstanding room sat six bosses, six bosses of Gotham's criminal underworld. They were no longer afraid to have meetings during the night, their cursed enemy has taken a serious fall since a year ago and wasn't a threat anymore. Not to them. No now the only threat was the Joker, the very fool who not only walked in on one of their meetings but had the nerve to dictate down to them.

It was a grave mistake that couldn't be ignored.

Around the table sat Sal Maroni, Philo Zeiss, Rafael Santini, Lew Moxon, Tony Zucco and Rupert Thorne.

All of them agreed that the Joker must go; he was too much of a wild card that couldn't be dealt with or controlled. It didn't take long for them to agree on how it will be done. They had an informant who knew a man who held control over many hitmen also know as mercenaries, called The Foreigner.

* * *

Batman overlooked the city, hidden from view from everyone. The business of the criminal underworld bothered him to the point where he swore he was going to be driven mad by it. Which wasn't a good thing, the last thing he needed was to be pushed into the cruel embrace of madness and Arkham Asylum where the most dangerous criminal he's ever had to face dwelt.

By his side sat his new apprentice who was very good at what he did, so far. With the two of them they managed to keep things from spilling out into the open to some degree while Gordon tried to do the same during the day. It wasn't easy with the corruption that plagued his city.

He had to do something to remind the criminal underworld that he was still there and that they should very well be afraid. After all, he required them to fear him in order to keep them from harming the innocent. So no eight year old boy will ever have to go through what he had to.

But what?

* * *

**Authoress Note: **I'm fully aware that I did this crossover before. But this one will be different, sure it's another 'Sabertooth hired to kill Joker' but there won't be slash and hopefully it will be true to the characters. Hopefully. So enjoy nonetheless. And the chapter's will be around the same length as the other story of this crossover, this one isn't because it's just the intro. Sabes will come in later.


	2. Breakout at Arkham Asylum

**Chapter 1 – Breakout at Arkham Asylum**

Joker twitched for the final time, the moon was fully in the sky and not easy to see except when the clouds and smoke clear from the sky long enough to give the people of Gotham time to shake the rain off their jackets. Tonight would be the night that he would grace Gotham with his constant presence, tonight would be the night that set things into motion that will bring the truth about Harvey Dent to light. By force if needed, and Joker hoped it would be needed.

"Patient 0801, go to sleep." A commanding voice spoke harshly through the door. The man was obviously foolish. Joker didn't sleep much, he didn't want to. Joker's attention went from the door where the dead man stood to the small window, deeming it more important now then the man who obviously had a grudge against him for some reason or another.

"Wonder what Batsy will do when everything's said and done, hmmm?" Joker mused, speaking normal at the moment for one reason only. It unnerved everyone and despite the calm tone he used, he was angry. Beyond angry. His rival, his Batman, was accused of murder which now made their ongoing game next to impossible. Not only that, the scars that was given to him by Batman properly healed and barely noticeable now.

That in itself didn't sit well with the Clown Prince. He rather did like the sound of that, it was unique and something no one else used in all of Gotham. That he was sure of, he killed the carnival one going by the name before his face was ever known by Gotham.

"No talking past ten o'clock. You know the rules." The dead man growled through the door before storming off, most likely to tend to his other whimsical duties.

Getting up Joker started to struggle against the restraint jacket that he was shoved in, it wasn't very tight tonight thanks to a few dollars here and there. Sneering slightly at the importance of money to some, it made things far too easy for him when setting things up and manipulating the mass of fools that live here. Oh well, why say no to a gift that made things easy for him in situations of getting out.

Panting from exertion Joker gently placed the restraint jacket down on the ground and walked over to the small bed off in the corner of his padded cell. He got the padded one because he purposely harmed himself within the first few months of living here. One reason for that was he needed a room that he could be alone in and be able to hide things.

It wasn't planned; Joker just knows what to do and how to do it. And he did it well.

Dragging the mattress away from the wall he smiled widely at the small rip in the padded floor near the corner of the room. It held the instrument to his escape from the moldy smelling padded room that was now discolored thanks to his lack of a toilet. The smell didn't bother him, not as much as it bothered the cleaners who everyday had to clean up his shit and piss. It was a tall tell sign that he could get out of his restraints, yet no one did anything about it because of the corruption within his Asylum. Corruption he was the cause of and corruption he took full advantages of whenever he gained the chance.

Kneeling down beside the small rip he pulled out a small unassuming pill. Still smiling widely he pushed his dirty mattress back against the wall and moved over to the still tied straight jacket laying forgotten on the floor he set the pill down beside it and hurriedly put it back on, which he had to admit was a lot harder then getting it off in the first place.

Hearing footsteps echo in the hallway outside his door he quickly knelt on the padded floor and bent over to quickly eat the unassuming pill. As soon as he did, he started to make as much noise as he could. Yelling, incoherent screaming and calls for help. It wouldn't be long now until he was suffering from the effects of his nameless pill. It was bought from the building's pharmacy by someone who was loyal to him. So he knew it would do its job.

And within minutes it did as he collapsed in on himself and crumbled to the ground, he could feel his own vomit coming up and spilling out of his scarred mouth. Eyes rolling up he could hear the dead man snarl out,  
"Will you shut up in the… Oh sit." Right after that he heard nothing as everything went black.

* * *

Jason, who worked there for a year and got stuck on this floor was doing his nightly business, yelling at Patient 0801 and watching the others sleep and drool. He didn't get to do it for long this night, because the cursed clown had to go into some sort of seizure. Induced by what, he didn't know. What he did know though was that he had to hit the emergency button and go into the cell himself to tend to the patient whose body movements just stopped.

The smell of vomit and shit filled the air. It made him want to vomit himself.

"Oh no, oh no. Come on you fool, don't do this to me. I only been here for a year, if you die now it'll look bad on my record." Jason begged as he checked the eyes. He heard hurried footsteps from other orderlies and the Asylum's doctor most likely. He didn't care whether or not the clown lived or not, he just didn't want the criminal to die during his shift because it would look bad on record that someone died while he was on duty.

Getting out of the way he watched as the others did their thing.

"Come on Jas man, we gotta calm the other crazies down." A man who was older then he was said, pulling him away. True to that the others were off the wall in noise and behavior. Just another night at Arkham it would appear, except for the fact that the star attraction was currently down and now being wheeled to the infirmary.

* * *

Doctor Bermejo, who was a veteran of Arkham Asylum and seen many things since his employment here hurried the orderlies along with Patient 0801 to the infirmary. Many questions formed in his mind about what happened. He didn't have a record on this patient, so he didn't know what the man was allergic to or anything. He had to play it by ear or experiment within proper procedures.

"Hurry up, open the door." Bermejo ordered as two orderlies did just that while he himself rolled his patient within the room of the infirmary where a few patients slumbered away.

On the drop of a dim, which Bermejo was proud of, everyone went to work in tending to the patient. First they removed the straight jacket, not noticing that it was pretty loose already and removing the top part of the typical bright orange jumpsuit the patients wore daily.

All in all, it took them close to two hours to get a handle on the situation. Patient 0801 now resting silently on the bed, restrained so he wouldn't escape.

"Okay, now I have to figure out what he indigested so I know what was the cause of this. Go ask the night staff in the pharmacy about the records of what he was given today." Bermejo ordered, he had enough seniority to order people around with proper borders. He had to make sure this doesn't happen again. He couldn't afford this happening again, especially with the trail coming up.

Turning around to the patient he noticed the lighting made the unpainted man more ominous with the scars that deeply carved out a gruesome smile that mocked and terrified many people both in and out of Arkham Asylum. If people asked him, Batman should have just let the fool drop.

"Shit…" Bermejo cursed as he ran a hair through his peppered hair while he walked off to his desk in the corner. He was tired but he'll wait until his day off which came tomorrow morning. There was only five more hours to go.

* * *

By the time Joker became aware again with a nauseous feeling deep in his stomach and weak limbs the moon was still in the sky, but starting to lower. Looking around he noted a clock and squinted to see it in the limited light, noting it to be around 3:39 am. The doctor was asleep at his desk, drooling over some file that Joker didn't care about. Moving slightly he noticed he was restrained, growling lowly at that he glared at the restraints that stopped him from moving too much.

Though he didn't glare for long as a young doctor came out of the bathroom, she wore pigtails like a girl would. A smile widened as she saw that he was awake. He could always rely on her to make things easy.

"Mornin' Pudden'." She chirped as she walked over and undone the restraints as quickly as she could. Immediately she was grabbed by the throat, the grip was tight enough to hurt but not to suffocate her. She looked fearfully at her man who pulled her down until they were nose to nose.

"What, uh, took you so long?" Joker hissed slightly, he hated feeling weak and it put him in a foul mood.

"Pudden', he put up a fight. Didn' go down easy. See, his papers are everywhere." She hurriedly answered and was grateful that he let go of her, slumping down to the ground and gripping her now bruising neck she watched him get up. She saw how he was shaking from his limbs being weak, the urge to help him was strong but she already knew that it would have deadly side effects.

Joker was pleased with the struggle the slumbering man obviously put up. Found it funny even, a doctor who was bigger then his Harley was taken down by an unassuming woman.

"You did good, _Harley_." Joker complimented as he swung his legs over the side. Getting out would be harder then it aught to be. But that was okay. He was used to problems coming up in nearly everything.

He could see her swooning at his compliment and wanted to sneer at it, it was so entertaining at his weak but strong little helper was so easily pleased. She was a valued pawn in his life, she entertained him and assisted in any carnal desire he had. From beating her down to fucking. She has yet to make her debut though, and because he rather did like his pet he will make sure it was grand. But not yet.

Standing up on shaky legs he growled at the fact that he obviously couldn't pay his dead man back yet. But there will be time later.

"Pudden' I got news for you, the Mob, they put a hit out on ya." Harley spoke as she stood next to him, watching him intently.

Joker sneered, when wasn't there a hit out on him. What was so different about this one that his little Harley Quinn had to tell him about personally?

"_And?_" Joker pushed, uncaring that she flinched at his glare. Tapping his foot he waited, impatiently as she handed him a black bag the size of his jacket. It was where his cloths were. Taking it wordlessly he laid it down on the bed and proceeded to remove his clean cloths that were put on after they no doubt cleaned the shit out of his pants and the vomit off his face and neck.

"Pudden', this one is different. I swear to you." Harley insisted, frustrated at the fact that he seems to be uncaring about what she has to say. How dare him! And after she went through all this trouble to get him free!

"Alrigh_t_ Harley, what hi_t_ is out on me, _this_ time." Joker humored with a slight mocking tone as he quickly got dressed and placed the many knives in his pockets. Again, Harley beamed though, this time he saw the frustrations and wanted to laugh because of it.

"_Well_, first of all. Your hitman isn't going to be human. Not even close. He's going to be a mutant who goes by the alias Sabretooth." Harley stated confidently, while her pudden' was away his men informed her of what's going on and she in turns informs him herself. She was his personal messenger and she will be anything he requires her to be. She loved him, and was told that she loved too easily and too completely. Foolishly even, she'll show them!

Joker's interest was peaked now, a mutant hunting him down? And one called Sabretooth to boot. Chuckling quietly turned to loud laughter that woke the others in the room, they didn't dare move though. Even though they were crazies, they knew that he wasn't the one to mess with. He was the top dog here. He was the king, the alpha and the omega. His word would tell if they lived or died, if they stayed here or be freed. And there was nothing anyone could do about it.

"Sabretooth huh." Joker hummed as he calmed down; despite the weakness in his limbs there was a skip in his step. He wasn't afraid of this mutant, why should he be? It could be interesting to see whether or not his Batsy comes out to play too. After all his Batsy was the good guy and good guys would want to stop the bad guys of the stories from hurting others. Even if the one who will be harmed is a fellow bad guy. It was funny!

He couldn't wait to introduce the punch line to Gotham's citizens!

"Uh-huh." Harley stated happily with a nod as she followed the Joker to the front gates, not bothering to stay out of view of the cameras. She knew how to make them disappear at this point. She was good at it.

Joker left her there, at the gates. He could picture her watching him go like a puppy would its owner. Smiling cruelly he walked up to a payphone and made a call, he needed someone to pick him up. Usually he would just shoot the change holder and use a coin from there, but why bother tonight. He was going by the rules for the fun of it, nothing more. And he was in a good mood again.

Few minutes later a car pulled up, it looked like an old beater too. Not something he would pay to own.

"Joker, sir. I'm John, John Frost. I'll be your driver." John spoke calmly, pulling out a gun and handing it to the Joker who took it and slipped it in his jacket pocket.

"Well, _John_, John Fros_t_. It's a, uh, plea_sure_ to meet you." Joker said, mockingly as he passed the man and sat in the back. Waiting for the scared frail looking man his age and his size follow him.

As soon as the man was in the car Joker ordered,  
"The Grinbare." And with that the man started to drive, kept looking in the back view mirror at him every so often. The man obviously had a fear of him. His reputation tends to do that to newcomers to his little club. Smiling broadly at John, John Frost he licked his lips. He could taste the lipstick he used to paint on his broad smile. He made sure his whole appearance was appropriate before he even set foot near the gate.

Good ol' Harley provided everything for him. She was such a good little pet. No doubt more useful then others. He has yet to see how useful John, John Frost was. Nonetheless on how useful or how useless the man was, his fate was chosen as soon as he took the job of picking him up. At some point or another, the man will die. They all do.

One thing was for sure, he was free and within the playground called Gotham again. And they better be ready.

* * *

**Authoress Note: **Okay... Last chapter I didn't want to do slash, this chapter I do... lol... So I'll leave it up to you. Do you want there to be slash and if so with who? I'm not doing a pairing between Joker and Batman though, just to inform you of that now. And I know that this is suppose to be in the crossover section, but what can I say. It has more chances of having people read it at least here then there. Sort of...


	3. Taking flight

**Chapter 2 – Taking flight**

Word was out; the Joker was out of Arkham and within the confines of the city once again. It wasn't even a year later; Gotham's wounds still haven't fully healed from his last bout of Joker's dose of chaos. Narrowing his eyes Bruce stared out of the window of his office at Wayne Tower. Everyone else was finishing up and heading home to have dinner with their families or lovers.

Himself, on the other hand had work to do. He had to track down this criminal, this Joker who was the opposite of him in nearly every way, and drag him back to Arkham before any damage was done. If that was even possible. He first had to track down the Joker, find out how he escaped and who if anyone helped him. Which he figured someone did help him because of the corruption plaguing Arkham Asylum.

Bruce knew about the corruption because he purposely puts some of his money into the security there, and yet criminals still escaped. With the money he gave, no one should be able to escape if they did their jobs and built up the security. On his desk sat pictures, one of his parents and himself as a child, another picture of Rachel while his third picture was one of Alfred and himself. Taken only a few months ago.

Shaking himself out of his reverie he noted that the sun was finally starting to go down. The time of the year helped in that. Winter, it wasn't the best time to be Batman. But he dedicated himself to this city, swore to it that he would be the protector to the best of his abilities and seek justice against those who do injustice towards others. So he will fulfill that promise even to his last breath come rain or shine.

Standing up he pushed his chair in, didn't bother straightening the papers. Instead it was the pictures that was straightened and kept neat. They were more important then everything else on his desk. Walking towards the door he opened the door and saw Lucius standing there, a kind expression took over the older man's face.

"I was just coming around to see if you were still hanging around here." Lucius stated which in turn perked Bruce's interest some.

"Oh?" Bruce inquired, slowly slipping out of his role as Bruce Wayne so he can slip into his ongoing role as the Batman. A role he will forever be willing to bear so long as Gotham needs him. And he figured, in the back of his mind, that it always will so long as there's people like the Joker out there and other tasteless characters.

"I simply wanted to ask you how things are going, it's been a year… The anniversary for Harvey Dent's death is tomorrow and being memorialized officially by the Mayor." Lucius stated, he knew this was a tender topic but had to ask anyways. After all, Bruce was the son of his the late Thomas Wayne who was in many counts his best friend.

Bruce applauded himself inwardly at the fact that he didn't wince or show any sign that the words stung. He didn't need to be reminded; after all he remembered it every day he had to look at their pictures. And every time he looked at Harvey's picture he could picture one side of his face burnt beyond recognition and what he has become in the end. Flipping that damned coin to decide someone's fate. It was a fifty-fifty chance that Bruce didn't agree on.

Taking a quiet breath in Bruce replied kindly, a well practiced tone from years of having to be in the spotlight,  
"I know Lucius, I'll be going there tomorrow." A part of him didn't want to. He knew the truth, yet loved Gotham so much to let them keep their white knight and didn't want Joker to win. That would have been completely insane right there.

"Will you be bringing young Jason with you?" Lucius asked calmly as he moved aside and allowed Bruce to exit his office and walked with the secret Dark Knight of Gotham to the elevator where they both were heading.

Ever since taking Jason Todd on as both the apprentice to Bruce Wayne and Batman, he didn't know what to think of the young man with a shady background as a child criminal. Bruce felt some kinship to the young man who was in many ways just as angry as he was at that age during the time when he first decided to venture off which led him to eventually becoming Batman. He hoped to help Jason past that, help him become something more. Yet he couldn't deny that there was something, a deep resentment that won't diminish in any way instead it seemed to grow and fall in on itself.

And now, despite everything he took the boy on officially to becoming Batman's 'sidekick' dubbed by the public newspapers and Gotham's few talk shows. Jason seemed to like the idea. But then again, Bruce has been wrong before.

"Yes, it would be good for him to get used to the hustle and bustle of being adopted by one Bruce Wayne." Bruce stated with an energetic smile as he pushed the button in the elevator which promptly took him and Lucius down to the garage.

"It would be good for him, after all being your adopted son will no doubt get a lot of attention. Possibly more attention then having Harvey memorialized." Lucius stated calmly as he walked with Bruce only for a short ways and bid his farewells. He was hungry, and just wanted to have a decent nights rest.

Bruce sat in his car for a few moments, pinching the bridge of his nose before putting the key into the ignition and starting the car. Letting it run for five minutes before pulling out of his parking spot and headed towards his home, now freshly rebuilt. Looking up to the clouded sky, he half expected the bat signal to light up a part of the sky. But he knew it wouldn't light up, not now and possibly never again.

How could it? Batman was a so called killer. Or at least that's what the masses tend to think now, but that doesn't matter. He'll protect them anyways. Bruce was okay with that. Purposely driving in a mock form of recklessness, after all the portrayal of himself was an irresponsible. His cell rang, answering it with a pleasant,

"Hello?" Despite his pleasant tone, his face portrayed nothing as he made the turn towards his mansion. It would be ten minutes before he parked his car in the garage. Twenty minutes before he takes on the ever burdened role as the Batman with Jason in tow most likely.

Bruce liked how enthusiastic Jason was, but how he used excessive force to restrain criminals was worse then how Batman would restrain Gotham's scum. Bruce already was aware that Jason's street life taught him a very black and white outlook on right and wrong. There was no in between, and despite the fact that Bruce usually agrees he couldn't deny that there was shades of gray. There always was and always will be. It was just the trouble of distinguishing those shades from each other.

Bruce wasn't on the phone for long, especially after he discovered that it was just a simple journalist wanting to interview him. It never ended; sometimes he wished that it did. But of course, this was the cost of being who he was during the day. Putting his phone back in his pocket he let his car idle in front of the garage as it was opening in it's always efficient manner. Alfred was waiting for him as usual; Bruce noticed new wrinkles joining the old ones. Stress most likely was more of a cause then age itself. And that in itself made Bruce feel guilty, he hated having to worry Alfred.

But what could he do? This was his calling, his mission and his burden that he had to constantly take care of. He only wished his burden wasn't a burden on anyone else.

"Master Bruce, Gordon sent you a message. He requires to speak with you. Perhaps you can take young Jason with you. Teach him more of the ropes?" Alfred mused calmly as he took Bruce's jacket dutifully while remarking in a chide,  
"I do wish you would wait until you enter the mansion before you start removing your cloths."

A single eyebrow rose up at the remark as he said,  
"Really Alfred, you said it yourself. Gordon needs to speak with me. I don't have time to waist tonight." Bruce stated, the other part of the sentence hung gloomily in the air. They both knew why he needed to get out into Gotham's sky.

The Joker.

"Still, you'll catch your death." Alfred huffed lightly, breaking the cycle of gloom that settles over the atmosphere if only temporary. A young man approached them cheerfully. He was always cheerful despite the hidden anger that was always present.

"Bruce, Alfred." Jason greeted happily, he was grateful to Bruce Wayne for taking him in. Not so much for the money part, being that Bruce was rich. That meant nothing to him. In truth, Bruce saved him from becoming a criminal like those he now despises. That feeling towards criminals, he knew for a fact would never disappear.

"Jason, how was your day?" Bruce asked as he untied his tie and headed towards the secret entrance only four people knew about. Tonight would be a long night; it was a good thing that he could squeeze a part of the day to himself in tomorrow in order to sleep in. He needed to catch up in his sleep. Then he will be able to go to the memorial that was being held at three in the afternoon.

"Boring, boring and oh, boring. There's nothing to do. I mean, sure there's schooling but that's boring too." Jason replied happily, behind them followed Alfred. He was a good man, Jason was quickly becoming rather fond of Alfred.

"Schooling is important. And it's boring because you don't have much of a social life of your own." Bruce stated as he waited for both Alfred and Jason to enter the elevator that was now more high tech then it was before the mansion was burnt down. It would provide better security and if needed protection from fire or anything else should it be needed.

Bruce could hear a sigh coming from Jason and almost wanted to smirk, this almost reminded him of a time when he complained to his father about having to listen to the tutors that was hired one year. Bruce didn't give him a chance to reply as he exited the elevator as soon as it entered. In front of him sat the Tumbler, his suite and Jason's suite that was more colorful then what Bruce was used to. And if anything, some people still found Jason to be a joke. But they usually learnt to take back that belief quickly.

Jason didn't have many skills, that much Bruce was aware of. But he had street smarts and that in itself was of use to Batman.

"So what are we doing tonight?" Jason asked as he threw off his cloths and started to get dressed in his own uniform. He rather did like color, and found that it was a nice contrast to the imposing darkness Batman usually brought with him nightly. He wore pants rather then his usual due to the weather, after all he wasn't superhuman.

"We need to speak with Commissioner Gordon." Bruce asked as he fixed his suite and held the helmet in his hands preparing to put it on.

"About the Joker?" Jason asked, there was a part of him that wasn't completely aware of the effect the clown had on his legal guardian. And found it odd the darkening of the atmosphere around Bruce. His instincts told him that he should start being careful with this line of topics.

Bruce cursed inwardly, he wished the street smart Jason would catch a clue and not mention that name so lightly. But he forced it down and forced a nod. Jason thankfully kept quiet as they finished up and got into the tumbler. The quietness however didn't last long as soon as the top closed and Jason now going by Robin when fully dressed in his uniform bombarded him with questions from important things to unimportant and annoying things.

This was going to be a long night.

With a roar from the tumbler's engine they took off, quickly making it to the streets of Gotham City. One of the most corrupted cities within the United States. It was also one of the dirtiest cities for more then one reason. Yet, Batman loved it all same.

They had a specific place where they met Gordon, for safety reasons and the fact that Batman was a hunted man now. As hunted as the clown was now that he was out of Arkham. Yet again.

There leaning against the wall of a dark alleyway was Gordon. The Tumbler was left deeper within shadows of the tall buildings, Batman and Robin moved by foot ignoring the dirty snow they had to walk through. Gordon noticed their approach, it was done purposely. That and he had to figure out how to help Robin remain out of sight. There were lessons to be held. And Batman was the best to give them.

"Gordon." Batman stated in his usual gravel tone. It always gained a quirk in Robin's eyebrow. Annoyance or amusement? Batman didn't know and didn't care; there was no time to care about minor things like that. Just like pain, he had no time to think about that either. Instead he'll work through it as he always done before. Against many different people in both the sewers and above the sewers and streets of Gotham.

"Wasn't sure you'd come." Gordon answered calmly; he wasn't sure what to think of Robin. But if Batman trusted him, the Gordon would have no choice but to. Because of one reason, he trusted Batman and there was a lack of trust in this city. He wasn't going to add to that distrust, even if it was only amongst himself and Batman. Gordon was used to the lack of response to what he said as he watched as Batman slipped deeper into the shadows, an outline was all that told Gordon that he was still there. Continuing Gordon said,  
"As you know the Joker is out of the prison. Turns out he had inside help, as you probably figured. We don't know who yet."

"Do you need me to find out who?" Batman asked, scanning the area out of habit. He couldn't be seen by anyone if he could help it.

"No, I have a few people working on that already. They're good cops, don't trust you though. I asked you to come because of other reasons." Gordon answered, shaking his head to reinforce his answer out of a habit he had for as long as he could remember.

"Like what?" Robin asked his curiosity was overwhelming. Who or what was more important then catching a mass murdering clown or his informants and inside help?

"The mob, informants told me that they are up to something. There's a hit out on the Joker. We just don't know who is taking that mission or even who they contacted in order to gain this help whether it's inside help or not." Gordon explained as he pulled out a piece of paper with the names of each mob boss that was involved with such a risky position, adding,  
"Joker's already killed two high level gang bosses that aren't at the level of mob bosses. They were working for the Joker but during his time away they split the profit and betrayed the Joker right, left and center. Needlessly said, it obviously didn't go over well with the clown."

"Who was killed?" Robin asked as Batman scanned the paper noting and remembering the names. He had a good memory, so Robin could predict the paper being handed back to Gordon after he was finished with it.

"One was a lowlife who simply gone by Monty. Joker skinned him alive. How I don't even want to know… The other one was Tommy Abner who was shot to death while at a small time restaurant. I believe there will be more to come." Gordon explained a grim expression on his face as he remembered each crime scene all too well. He still liked to visit the crime scenes and keep a good handle on how things ran. It made him enemies, but he can deal with that as it comes.

"I'll do what I can." Batman stated as he disappeared into the shadows. Robin already knew to follow, and he did. Which Batman was both glad for and annoyed by. He still had to get used to having help going with him. Glad because then he can show more of the ropes to Robin. It was his job and responsibility to do so.

* * *

**Authoress Note:** There won't be any slash XD which was decided as I re-read through this story and thought about where I wanted it to go. Slash won't fit at all. So I apologize to anyone who by chance wanted slash of some sort.


	4. Enter Sabretooth

**Chapter 3 – Enter Sabretooth**

Sitting in first class on a plane, Sabretooth stared out of the window ignoring everything else around him. He had to fight the temptation to shut people up the hard way; he'll have time to quench his unquenchable bloodlust when he reached Gotham City, a corrupted place that could easily become an interesting hunting ground. Though as time gone on, it became harder and harder to ignore all the smells that disgusted him and the sounds that annoyed him and was driving him closer and closer to snapping and painting the insides of this plane a different color.

He nearly smiled at the thought; it was simply to entertaining to not fight off a grin or chuckle. If people knew what he was thinking they would be horrified, they would call him a monster and an animal. And they wouldn't be wrong in their accusations.

He was an animal. And he was good at it.

This was why he was being sent to Gotham, the incompetent fools who couldn't take care of one stupid clown and they wanted the best. Which was him, he was rather known within the mercenary world going by Sabretooth. An alias he preferred now rather then using his name. The other aliases he went by at one point or another were Slasher, El Tigre and Der Schlächter. He rather found Der Schlächter amusing; it meant The Butcher in German. A fitting alias if he didn't say so himself.

Unfortunately for Sabretooth and his limited patience tonight, the noise on the plane was loud, louder for him due to his hearing. Still, over years of fighting in wars and riding planes as the quickest way to get from point A to B he's gotten used to it. Most of the time he preferred driving, he had more control and was alone and could go at his own terms. Not to mention, he didn't have to smell the odors of everyone else.

Scanning the area once he noticed a mother and her teenager daughter, they were going to Gotham as well to visit her brother. The daughter didn't want to go, and from the way she dressed she didn't realize in the city of criminal's she'd be a major target of the usual scum. Sabretooth didn't even have to use his imagination to know what she had. Chuckling to himself, it was a pity he didn't have time to play at the moment.

The captain was reporting that they were approaching Gotham City's airspace and would be landing within fifteen minutes, good. The sooner he got there the better. He was itching to get this show started. As soon as it landed the first class was allowed off first due to that fact alone, Sabretooth watched the mother and her teenager daughter walk off ahead of him bickering about what the daughter was wearing.

Sniffing the air he noted it seemed more polluted with city scents more then any other one he's been in which was a lot of cities over his lifetime. But that's fine he can deal with that, it was easy. Immediately he hailed a cab, he needed to get to his next destination as quickly as possible due to a meeting with the ones who hired him needing to meet up first before he did his job. That and he needed to discuss method of payment as well.

"Where would you like to go sir?" The cab driver asked, nervous about his passenger's appearance. No one should have claws like that, not to mention the man in the back seat was pretty big and strong looking too. A man he wouldn't want to mess with.

"This address." Sabretooth answered, smiling wickedly at the man's hesitance in taking the slip of paper from him. It was entertaining to watch people's reactions to his claws, everyone was afraid of them and rightfully so. There was only one person he knew that wasn't afraid of them and never shied away from his hands, and thinking of that person his thoughts turned darker with angered hurt at the betrayal long ago. Sabretooth actually had to fight off a snarl as he sat back after the cab driver took the paper and proceeded to drive.

He's seen cleaner cities too, scanning the area as they drove into a better part of town to a restaurant that was owned by one of his soon to be employers, Rupert Thorne a man Sabretooth knew to have some influence in Gotham's politics. Not that he cared. Sabretooth made sure to have some idea about who he's hired by just to be sure of a few things here and there.

As soon as they got there he exited the cab without paying the man, letting him live was payment enough in his opinion and entered the restaurant.

"Do you have a reservation?" A well dressed, half his size man said politely while staring at the vicious looking claws.

"No, I'm here to meet some people. I'm sure you know them, Sal Maroni." Sabretooth stated amusedly, he saw the look his claws were getting and moved his hands just to watch the man's eyes never leave them. A bad place to stare at, it wouldn't let you read the person in front of you enough to even try to defend yourself. But, Sabretooth wasn't going to do anything. Not yet anyways.

"Uh, you must be… Sabretooth. Just um, follow me." The well dressed man said as he left his post and indicated that it was right through the doors leading to the rest of the restaurant where customers are seated.

Sabretooth was amused at how uncomfortable his name sounded as he followed the man up the stairs and through another door. The VIP area he figured, six people were seated at a long rectangle table that was well polished and quite beautiful. Sabretooth's spot soon enough won't be. He didn't wait for them to invite him to sit down; he just sat down in a relaxed position. Naturally done posturing.

"Sabretooth, welcome. My name is Rupert Thorne, the owner of this establishment." Thorne greeted, he eyed the mutant in front of him with cold detachment. The claws were unsettling as was the look in the man's eyes. Man? Could he even consider _Sabretooth_ a man?

"Aren't you goin' to offer me a drink then?" Sabretooth mocked, eyeing the man with the same detachment despite the mocking tone he took on. He knew he made the man uneasy, he could smell it in the air as thickly as all the other turmoil that the mob bosses were feeling. They've never had to deal with an animal like him before.

A snap of the fingers and a waiter came out from his waiting spot. He was a loud breather, Sabretooth heard him as soon as he entered the room. Rushing about, with a pad and paper, Sabretooth watched as he took everyone's order and nearly all of them ordered something rich arrogant people tend to order. Did these people not have any taste?

The waiter approached him rather carefully, heh, that in itself was amusing. Sabretooth didn't speak up or acknowledge the man until he managed to get enough of a backbone and ask,  
"Would you like anything?"

Sabretooth chuckled as he looked at the man, right in the eyes as he answered with a mock,  
"Sure thing, I'd like a beer. Plain an' simple." The man quickly nodded, jotted down the order and scurried off. Reminded Sabretooth of a mouse. What a coward, what a disgrace yet very entertaining from where he sat.

"You are aware of why you're here I assume." Maroni stated, shifting in his expensive tailored gray suite as he eyed the mutant in front of them trying to ignore the carving that was happening to the expensive redwood table they were sitting at. Perhaps they should have used a pull out table and plastic chairs?

The gray suited man, who he knew to be Sal Maroni, was stating the obvious. It was apparent to him that they didn't want to sit around for idle chit chat. Which was fine for Sabretooth, he wanted to get to work as soon as he could. He was itching to kill something that would prove to be a challenge, hopefully.

"Ya, I'm here to kill a clown." Sabretooth stated with a shrug, he downsized his job though. He already knew what the Joker was capable of, that had him excited. Though he didn't know the origins of the said clown nor where he came from and age. Needlessly said, he was going in partially blind. Which made it all the more exciting. He couldn't wait.

Sabretooth could already see that his statement both entertained them and annoyed them. Perhaps they wanted more politeness? Sabretooth found that to be an entertaining thought in itself. Who were they kidding?

"Not just any clown, if this was just a clown we would have took care of it ourselves." Zeiss stated calmly. Philo Zeiss technically was a contact killer who worked for the mob but after the death of his old employer he decided to take his place on a whim. It would make it easier to take out his vendetta against the Batman, but first he agreed that the Joker had to go. His old employer was Lew Moxon's distant family member and Lew didn't know that it was Zeiss that killed his distant family member. That secret will remain with him until the day he died or until Lew Moxon died. Whichever came first.

"But, he is just a human. His bones can break just like yours can, he can bleed just like any other human can. He can die just like any human can." Sabretooth pointed out; though he didn't mention it he already knew that the Joker would make up for anything with intelligence and the ability to manipulate anyone into working for him. Which made him a threat in itself. Sabretooth wasn't worried though, because he was well aware of what he himself could do to someone. He took pleasure in it.

"You're making light of the situation." Moxon stated as calmly as he could, but it wasn't easy because he for one had a severe dislike for mutants in general. That and he also had a bone to pick with Philo Zeiss, who Moxon was aware, killed a distant family member. Distant or not, the old fool was family. Which would count as a life for a life in his mind, Zeiss had to die at some point. Maybe he could pay Sabretooth?

"No I'm not, I'm fully aware that he's intelligent and has a lot of people working for them. And I use the word people, lightly." Sabretooth chided, almost like he was surprised at their accusation though it was only a mock of it and he knew that the mob bosses were fully aware of it. And from the outrage that was barely bottled from a few of them, they weren't used to people much less mutants taunting them so easily and lightly.

It was funny to watch, if he felt like it at the moment he would have laughed at the foolishness of it. The foolishness on their parts that was, after all if they wanted his handy work then they aught to be aware by now what he was fully capable of. And more importantly that he enjoyed his job, every detail of it. The waiting, the stalking, the fear and the part of actually killing his intended target. It was something that made him different then his brother despite them being so similar.

"We should have hired Deadshot." Santini muttered angrily to himself but didn't dare speaking out loud. His eyes narrowed when he saw a sneer cross the mutant's features.

"Ya, an' how well did that work out? The _Batman_ beat him in no time." Sabretooth mocked out loud, the man who he figured was the idiot Rafael Santini looked shocked even flabbergasted at him speaking up about knowing what he said. It made it clear about his keen senses, which took away some fun of keeping it secret, but oh well. No use complaining about that now.

His mock left the room uncomfortable with the realization that Sabretooth could hear every word they say within the same room as them. And that in itself made Sabretooth want to laugh loudly at the fact. Scratching a happy smile into the table he waited for them to carry on with what they were here for. His thoughts slightly interrupted as the mousy waiter brought out the drinks that were ordered including the beer he asked for; thankfully the mousy waiter had enough sense to not put his drink in a glass like he did in some of the other drinks.

Sabretooth didn't bother thanking him, why should he? It wasn't in his nature to do anything of the sort unless there was a good reason for it. With a quick flick of his claws the bottle cap was removed landing on the table discarded. While eyeing them up, waiting for them to get their act together and quickly he drank the beer quickly. Finishing it rather quickly before setting the empty bottle on the table forgotten and no longer needed.

"So, am I hired or what?" Sabretooth pushed, entertainment played on his features while his eyes remained cold and hard mirroring how serious he was at the moment. Not to mention it was a silent threat and a warning to answer quickly and if they had enough sense. Give the answer Sabretooth wanted. After all, he wanted to play and his kind of playing wasn't the kind others walked away from either alive and by some miracle they survive they won't be walking away unscathed.

Licking the inside of his fangs he couldn't help but feel some excitement at the prospect of what's to come. And he knew it was going to be big. Hell, he wondered it the so called Batman would come out to tend to the situation. If he did, Sabretooth figured he would no doubt kill him too. Just for the hell of it or give him a beating he'll never forget. But who knows, things changed. They always do and they always will. The faint image of his brother promising to stay with him then leaving in Africa flashed through his mind causing him to sneer. How dare the runt!

He heard them whispering amongst themselves, a quick last minute debate on whether or not to hire him. He wished they would just hurry up, this was getting annoying and someone just farted which added to his annoyance. Pigs. The lot of them.

"I don't have all day boys. Things to do, people to kill." Sabretooth brawled lightly, though if you knew how to read people you would be able to hear the annoyance and the quickly disappearing patience. That in itself should tell them to hurry up if the words weren't understood correctly, and Sabretooth's had idiots before who didn't understand plain English and they spoke the language. His claws clicked against the table in an impatient I'm waiting manner.

They gave him an annoyed glance, brave kids. Foolish though, good for them that he wasn't in the mood to kill. No he wanted to hunt first, where's the fun in just killing someone without hunting them down and squeezing every last ounce of fear out of them. He knew he wouldn't get fear from the clown, instinct told him so. But the thrill of the hunt, the challenge of bringing down prey that wasn't stupid or predictable made him want to do it even though he won't get the fear he always coveted from his prey.

"Very well, Mr. Sabretooth. You're hired, I certainly hope you know what you're getting yourself into." Maroni stated, unnerved at the expressions he saw on the mutant as they shifted from annoyance to what he could guess was anger or resentment to sadistic glee. They really did get a head case for this sort of thing, but that might be what makes this insane idea actually work. And that was saying something considering that the man you want dead is also insane. Or at least, they assume he's insane. No sane man would do so much damage to the city just to play with one man dressed as a flying rodent.

Sabretooth grinned, showing off his fangs. He was more amused at the sickly polite tone Maroni used on him, even going so far to call him mister. Heh.

"Good choice." Sabretooth commented as he stood up, leaving thin lines on the table as he pushed himself up. The entire table top where he sat was marked up pretty good. Happy faces and other shapes, he even carved two words in capital letters on it. Uncaring about their property, why should he?

"How soon do you think you'll get him?" Tony Zucco asked, calculatingly so he could come up to some estimation on when he could get his business taken care of as soon as the damned clown was out of the way. For good. It would be heaven the second that clown was out of the way. He'll even throw a parade somehow.

"Can't say, it'sa hunt. It might take some time to hunt 'im down." Sabretooth mused as he chuckled at the thought of what he could do; hell he could improve those scars some. He knew he could. He was good at that sort of thing; everyone who comes in contact with him tends to walk away with some sort of scar. It was entertaining.

**Authoress Note: **So, what did you think? If anyone comes up with idea's feel free to let me know, I'd be happy to hear them. And no this won't be slash or anything of that sort. So no worries for those who either don't like slash or simply isn't in a mood to read slash at the moment.


End file.
